Internet

The internet is pretty much a collection of computers
connected together using fiber optic cables to create a electronic/virtual
network.It can mainly be defined as a
public cyberspace that allows people to share information and data using
computers and phone lines.There are three
things that one needs in order to use the internet: a computer, subscription with an
internet service provider, and a web browser.

In the mid 1960s, the government needed a way to communicate
safely and efficiently.Due to the cold
war, it was feared that an atomic bomb would disrupt communication for the
United States Military and the Federal Government, rendering the American
forces disorganized, uncoordinated and leaving America vulnerable to a foreign invasion.To counter this problem in advance, the
government created what is now termed the internet to continue communicating
critical information even if a large region of America is taken down.Put simply, the internet was initially a
backup plan (similar to a disaster recovery plan) that would serve as a substitute
to the phone system.Another reason the
internet was put in use was to boost the military’s efficiency and effectiveness
at communicating information. In addition,
using an internet to pass on secret messages would be more spy-proof than using
the traditional telephony system.The
U.S. Department of Defense was entrusted with administering the internet.From the 1960s to the 1980s, the Department
of Defense granted other government branches to use the Internet such as Public Universities,
and non-combat Government entities.Universities most of all benefited from the internet through the combination
of research and information sharing.It
was only until the 1990s the internet was used for commercial and personal
reasons.By then, the cold war had long
been over and the U.S.
government relaxed regulations on internet use.In 1994, two Stanford University students named Jerry Yang and David Filo were
tinkering around with the internet.They
used the Internet as a hobby to post information and links to specific websites
that they thought were useful and nifty.The popularity of their web page grew and their website traffic exploded.As a result, the two Ph.D. students started
what we now know as YAHOO (Yet Another Hierarchical Officious Oracle).Since then and onwards, the internet became a
near trillion dollar industry that will feed the American economy along with
other world economies for centuries to come.

In order for information to be displayed on a web page, shared
by people, and sent from one computer to another, a system of electronic
information must be used.The internet
of course relies on a system that facilitates communication between computers
located across the globe.This system is
known as the World Wide Web.By definition,
the World Wide Web is a hypertext language that can transport internet users
from one webpage to another. As the name hypertext indicates, people can click
on text to virtually transport from one location (known as an IP address) to another
in order to view information located on a web page. Additionally the Word Wide WebThese Protocols that the World Wide Web uses
are called Hypertext Transport Protocol (HTTP).Using HTTP, content creators can share information back and forth using
hyperlinks and electronic requests.The platform
on which the WWW, HTTP, etc. are all embedded on is a standard web browser such
as Mozilla Firefox and Internet Explore.Lastly and certainly not least, the man credited with putting HTTP, WWW,
HTML and the internet together is Sir Tim Berners-Lee, which was in 1991. requires the
support of protocols which are rules and procedures that define how transmission
of data will occur and what form the data will take.

Today, we use the internet in different ways.The first form the internet takes is what’s
known as the Intranet.The intranet is a
private network of computers that can only be accessed and used by employees working
for an organization.For example, San Jose State University
uses an intranet so faculty and staff can work online and share information
without an unauthorized person, intruding or accessing that information.The second form of the internet is called the
extranet.An extranet is also a
collection of computers that are linked together to form a private
network.The difference between an
extranet and an Intranet is that supplies, customers or other authorized
parties are given permission to share information private information of a
corporation.A great example of this is
how Walmart allows its suppliers to access its corporate database to check if
inventory is running low.Both the
intranet and the extranet are the major driving forces behind supply chain management.The last form of the internet is actually
just plain internet.This is a cyberspace full of information that anyone can access without restrictions or
authentication.It is information open
to the public to view such as a local library’s homepage.